The usual trademarks of Everyman are in this crossword, which was largely good I think and the one or two places where I am in doubt may be down to me not to Everyman.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (homophone, hidden, containment, anagram, juxtaposition, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*. Link-words in green.
I wondered whether to colour the ends of 1ac and 9ac because they are the same, also the ends of 17ac and 19ac for the same reason, but I think it’s just a coincidence. I’ve just noticed that I forgot the last two letters of 11ac. Too late now. I’m sure you can cope.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GOODNESS ME |
Everyman adhering to decency: that’s surprising (8,2)
|
| If Everyman is adhering to decency then he’s adhering to goodness, and ‘goodness me’ sort of describes this. I think. Anyway we have the self-referential clue immediately. | ||
| 6 | SCAT |
Jazz fans with bit of sax moved to intro? Improvise lyrics (4)
|
| cats (= jazz fans) with the s (bit of sax) moved to the beginning — I’m not absolutely happy with the definition, which seems to me to suggest that the singer is improvising actual words, like the singer of a calypso; Chambers and Collins say that the singer is improvising nonsense sounds | ||
| 9 | MONOCHROME |
Hero – common ground – it’s all black-and-white (10)
|
| (Hero common)* | ||
| 10 | ASTI |
Sparkling wine in course of Lammas-tide (4)
|
| Hidden in LammAS-TIde | ||
| 11 | WALK THE PLANK |
In the main, disembark? (4,3,5)
|
| CD where ‘main’ refers to the sea — I’m not quite comfortable with ‘in’: one is on the main when at sea, and if you walk the plank you drop into the main | ||
| 15 | MATADOR |
Adjusting to drama, I’m a fighter (7)
|
| *(to drama) — Everyman is using the convention that “I” can refer to the answer | ||
| 16 | STRETCH |
Type of jeans – covering expanse? (7)
|
| The expanse might be the stomach, necessitating stretch jeans; not sure what type of clue this is: to me it doesn’t seem very cryptic | ||
| 17 | LEANEST |
Bucolic site, comfy home, minimal in extremis … (7)
|
| lea nest — lea = Bucolic site (a lea is a meadow and bucolic = pastoral or rural), nest = comfy home | ||
| 19 | GAMIEST |
… extremely stinky component of amalgam – i.e., stinkiest (7)
|
| Hidden in amalGAM I.E. STinkiest | ||
| 20 | BREAK THE BANK |
As a flooded river may come at too high a price (5,3,4)
|
| 2 defs | ||
| 23 | UNIT |
Military subdivision incapable: France lost (4)
|
| un[F]it — unfit = incapable, F = France (IVR) | ||
| 24 | OPTIMALISE |
Maximally improve A.I. – almost too simple, dubiously (10)
|
| (A.I. to[o] simple)* | ||
| 25 | TA-TA |
Flipping American junk: I’m off (2-2)
|
| (A tat)rev. | ||
| 26 | ADOLESCENT |
Youngster’s amateur haircut with, after vacation, loathsome cologne (10)
|
| A do l[oathsom]e scent — A = amateur, do = haircut (as in hairdo), scent = cologne | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GEMS |
Runs away from bugs in stones (4)
|
| ge[r]ms — germs = bugs | ||
| 2 | OINK |
‘Hey you, getting nookie regularly?’ – swinish outburst (4)
|
| “Oi” n[oo]k[ie] — Oi = hey you — swine = pig, and it is making the ‘oink’ sound (yes ‘oink’ really is in the dictionaries!) — an unusual ‘regularly’ clue in that the regularity is not the odd or the even letters but every third one | ||
| 3 | NECK AND NECK |
Even pair of cheeks? (4,3,4)
|
| neck = cheek (as in being rude or lippy or offensive)) | ||
| 4 | STRIKER |
Sportsperson, senior, astride pedalled vehicle (7)
|
| s(trike)r — sr = senior, pedalled vehicle = trike | ||
| 5 | MEMPHIS |
The writer, politician: that man’s ruined city (7)
|
| me MP his — me = The writer, MP = politician, his = that man’s | ||
| 7 | CASUALTIES |
After reshuffle, actualises hospital wards (10)
|
| *(actualises) — I suppose that if a ward is called ‘Casualty’ then more than one of these might be ‘Casualties’, but … | ||
| 8 | TRICK SHOTS |
Short stick in play might effect these? (5,5)
|
| (Short stick)* — referring to golf presumably —’trick shot’ isn’t in either Chambers or Collins but is something well-enough known to golfers to be there I should have thought — &lit. [as several say, almost certainly snooker or billiards] | ||
| 12 | PYROMANIACS |
Those drawn to light? (11)
|
| CD relying on a different sense of light: not light as in a light bulb but light as set fire to, which is something a pyromaniac is keen to do | ||
| 13 | EMILY BLUNT |
My bulletin edited to provide name of English actress (5,5)
|
| (My bulletin)* | ||
| 14 | STRATEGIST |
Tactician gets artist in a lather (10)
|
| (gets artist)* — tactics and strategy are very different in chess, but in a military sense I suppose it’s OK | ||
| 18 | T-SHAPED |
Per Spooner, that woman recorded description of a certain road junction (1-6)
|
| Per Spooner this becomes “she taped” — she = that woman, taped = recorded | ||
| 19 | GABRIEL |
Primarily, God’s archangel bringing reports (I.eleven, Luke)? (7)
|
| The first letters clue, referring to the angel Gabriel | ||
| 21 | TIME |
Upon rising, give out prison sentence (4)
|
| (emit)rev. — emit = give out | ||
| 22 | CENT |
Money posted (we’re told) (4)
|
| “sent” |
I’m with you John in finding 14d dubious as a definition; for mine tactics and strategy are pretty much opposites in planning terms. Otherwise a good, standard Everyman.
Thanks to Everyman & John
STRETCH
Expanse, here, I think, refers to an open area of land or sea.
TRICK SHOTS
Thought of billiards. It could well be golf.
Thanks John for the detailed blog.
Thanks for the blog , I agree with KVa @2 for STRETCH , a double definition .
Partly agree for TRICK SHOTS , but it is surely snooker . Snooker players do a lot of exhibitions with many trick shots and the cue is basically a stick .
I liked PYROMANIACS. (Well in the context of its being a crossword solution.)
Stick = snooker cue is the only thing that satisfies requirements, I think, as Roz says.
Thanks setter, blogger, commenters.
I did not like this crossword. John says of 16a “not very cryptic”, and I would put 11a and 12d in the same category. I was defeated by the Spoonerism. I thought a lot of the clueing was less tight than usual.
Is there any way of getting the blank pdf? Everyman seems to be hiding behind a pay barrier.
Thanks Everyman and John
In 1A I think “adhering to” just means ME is “stuck next to” GOODNESS, with no requirement for Everyman to be doing it personally.
Iainb @ 6
Since The Guardian sold The Observer to Tortoise Media a year or so ago they have been bringing a paywall in.
There is a way to get directly to the pdf, but I don’t have it immediately to hand. However it was given in previous Everyman blogs, so if you check ‘back issues’ you should be able to find it.
Simon S @7 Yes, agree about 1A.
Iainb @6
https://cdn.slowdownwiseup.co.uk/media/documents/obs.everyman.20260125.pdf
Didn’t like 18d, and not because of the Spoonerism. Perhaps some handbook describes a road junction as ‘T-SHAPED’, but to me and many others it’s just a T junction.
Simon S@8: as has been noted before, it’s not a paywall. You just have to register an email address, which is reasonable given that they now accept online submissions for the prize crosswords.
Can someone explain the parsing please of OINK because even with the above, I don’t understand it.
Peter@11. It is OI for hey you and then NK from NooKie, regularly, to give a pig or swinish noise.
I agree with Roz@3 that Trick Shot refers to snooker even if a snooker cue is usually a long stick. Thanks to John for the blog.
Thanks Simon. Sorry but I still don’t get this. Where is the direction to take the N and K from Nookie?
Tactician and strategist are largely opposite – not just in chess; in military tactical level is the lowest level of command, whereas strategic is the highest; compare also tactical vs strategic nuclear weapons etc.
Peter #13 – the instruction is “regularly” (1st letter in every three would be regular)
Thanks Everyman and John!
I’ve seen ‘regular’ to mean every odd numbered letter or every even numbered letter but never anything else.
I couldn’t get the clue to fit by doing that. I don’t think I’ve seen this before in an Everyman and I don’t think it’s really on. For example, are we expected to realise that every seventh letter in a 14 letter word is regular?
First new Everyman in a few weeks for me, having been blocked for a month. Instead I’ve been wading way yonder through the back-catalogue. I wouldn’t have minded splashing out an initial quid, but to then have that jump up to £16 per month just for a weekly crossword was a non-starter.
Re: paywall, I’ve downloaded the pdf for free every week up to now, without registering. Wasn’t able to from my phone, but laptop is always fine…just directly from observer site…
I was also blocked behind a paywall request and had to use alternative means of getting to the crossword. After seeing Cara’s comment above, I gave it another shot and got through no problem. Thanks Cara!
I share the reservations mentioned about OINK and T-SHAPED.
John, you missed highlighting MEMPHIS as the geographical clue. Thanks for the blog, and thanks to Everyman for the crossword.
To add to Tamarix’s comment (#18) there’s also CASUALTIES as a one-word anagram.
#18 Tamarix – pleasure! and very happy it’s working for you too.
6ac: I think this may be a misunderstanding by Everyman. Scat singing is improvisation – but of melodies and rhythms, not of lyrics. As John says, it’s using nonsense syllables not words.
7dn: Chambers gives one definition of “ward” as “the patients in a ward collectively”, so I think it stacks up.
Peter@15: “regularly” is used most commonly to mean alternate letters, but every third letter (in one or more than one word) is seen occasionally. Every seventh letter in a 14-letter word would be very unusual, but technically would still be “regular”.
Poc@10: if you were asked why a T-junction is so called, would you not perhaps say it’s because it resembles the shape of a T? I agree it’s always called a T-junction, but the clue does say “description”, not name….
Wondering about the surface of 19D, I considered whether Gabriel might have appeared to Mary in chapter 1 of Luke. Nope, different baby, but apparently the same angel. There in chapter 1, verse 11, an angel appears to Zacharias with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist.